Suction feeder



April 28, 1964 A. F. SHIELDS 3,130,550

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I April 28, 1964 A. F. SHIELDS 3,130,650

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April 2s, 1964 A. F. SHIELDS 3,130,650

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United States Patent O 3,130,650 SUCTIGN FEEDER Albert F. Shields,Forest Hills, NSY., assignor to S & S Corrugated Paper Machinery Co.,Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 16, 1962,Ser. No. 173,727 1G Claims. (Cl. 93-49) The instant invention relates tobox making machinery in general and more particularly to a novel suctiondevice for feeding blanks from the bottom of a stack.

A machine of the general type which converts dat corrugated box blanksinto folded tubular boxes is described in my U.S. Patent No. 2,982,189,issued May 2, 1961, entitled Power Driven Adjusting Means for Slotting,Scoring, Creasing and Slitting Machine, and assigned to the assignee ofthe instant invention. In the device of the aforesaid patent box blanksare fed one at a time from the bottom of a stack into a portion of themachine which slots and scores the blank. The blanks then pass to aportion of the machine which applies glue to a lap of each blank andthereafter folds the outer panels of the blank inwardly to forrn afolded tubular box. The folded tubular boxes are then formed into anunderfeed stack and periodically a predetermined number of blanks areremoved from the top of the stack. In order to maintain registry withthe slotting knives and to assure that a predetermined number of blanksare removed each time, the operation of the feed-in device must besynchronized with operation of the slotter-scorer and stacking sections.

Traditionally, feed-in devices for this purpose have been eithermechanical or suction devices. For the most part, the mechanical devicesutilize a reciprocated feed stack which engages the trailing edge of thebottom most blank in the stack and projects this blank forward. In thecase of suction devices, it was always felt that the bottom most blankin the stack must be engaged at, or near, the leading edge thereof.

In order for the mechanical feeder to operate at practical productionspeeds it was necessary for the blanks to have a substantiallycontinuous trailing edge extending perpendicular to the feed line.Similarly, for suction feeders to be operable at practical productionspeeds it was necessary for the blanks to have a substantiallycontinuous leading edge on a line positioned perpendicular to the feedline. In recet years, die cut box blanks have been designed with boththe leading and trailing edges thereof being highly irregular in shape.This immediately rules out the mechanical feeder. It has been found thatsuction feeders which engage the blank near the leading edge thereof arenot capable of extreme high speed operation on this type of blankwithout causing the blanks to cock thereby bringing the fold lines outof parallelism with the feed line.

The feed-in device of the instant invention represents a radicaldeparture from traditional thinking in that a suction means is utilizedto engage the bottom most blank in the stack at a point intermediate theleading and trailing edges of the blank. Engagement of the blank takesplace at a continuous portion thereof rather than the leading ortrailing portion edges thereof which are marked by transverseindentations.

In operation, the stack of box blanks rests upon a support tablepartially defined by a plurality of strips arranged in spaced parallelrelationship extending parallel to the feed line. The strips arepositioned above a wide belt of flexible material arranged to travel ina closed loop which surrounds a chamber connected to for means producinga vacuum within the chamber. The belt moves parallel to the feed lineand is provided with a slot of substantial width extending transverse tothe strips. While the belt lies below the feed table the leading andtrailing sides of the slot are delined by yieldable members providedwith slots to receive the strips forming thereby permitting theyieldable members to extend above the table structure and seal againstthe bottom most blank in the stack.

For each cycle of the belt the suction means securely grips the sheet ata selected advantageous point so that the blank is carried into the feedrolls without the blank becoming cocked, even at extremely highoperating speeds. The speed with which the belt moves is coordinatedwith the speed of the folding and stacking sections. Because of this,stacking is facilitated and an accurate count is obtained for the foldedtubular boxes as they are delivered from the stack.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide a novelconstruction for box machinery feed-in devices.

Another object is to provide a novel suction feed-in device which iscapable of high speed operation, with box blanks having highly irregularleading and trailing edges.

Still another object is to provide a suction feed-in device in whichoperation thereof is coordinated with operation of a stacking device.

A further object is to provide a suction feed-in device in which thestack of blanks to be fed are supported by a table defined by agrid-like structure.

A still further object is to provide a suction feed-in device in whichthere is a continuously moving belt having a suction introducing slotdefined by notched rubber elements which receive the strips of thegrid-like table so that these elements may extend above the table andengage the bottom most blank in the stack.

These objects, as well as other objects of this invention, shall becomereadily apparent after reading the following description of theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE l is a side elevation of a box making machine embodying theteachings of the instant invention.

FIGURES 2A-2C are schematics showing the transformation of a box blankinto a folded tubular box.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the novel suction feeder of this invention.

FIGURE 4 is a View similar to FIGURE 3 with the grid-like stacksupporting table removed.

FIGURE 5 is an end view of the suction feeder.

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation of the suction feeder with several of theelements cut away to reveal the internal elements.

FIGURE 7 is a cross section taken through line 7-7 of FIGURE 6 lookingin the direction of arrow 7-7.

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary view illustrating the manner in which theyieldable members by defining the moving slot of the belt are secured tothe belt.

FIGURE 8A is a cross section taken through line SA-SA of FIGURE 8looking in the direction of arrows 8A-8A.

FIGURES 9 and l0 are schematics illustrating, in plan View, the bottommost blank of the stack and its position on the feed table. Inparticular, FIGURE 9 illustrates the position of the feed-belt slot atthe time when initial movement of the blank is about to take place WhileFIG- URE 10 illustrates the position of the vacuum chamber top openingwith relation to the blank prior to movement thereof.

Now referring to the gures. Box making machine 19 includes feed-insection 20 which removes blanks one at a time from the bottom of stack21 and sends them into folding section 22 where glue is applied to theblanks and they are folded by belt means 23. As the folded blanks issuefrom folding section 22 they are received by stacking and deliverysection 24 where they are assembled into an underfed stack 25. Pusherplate 26 of stacking and delivery section 24 periodically engages thetop portion 27 of stack 25 for removal thereof.

As best seen in FIGURE 2A, each of the blanks 2S of stack 21 includespanels A, B, C, D defined by score lines 29-33. Panels A-D will becomethe side panels of the erected box. Lines 29-31 extend parallel to thefeed path or feed line of direction as indicated by arrow E of FIGURE 2Awhe score lines 32, 33 extend at right angles to this feed path.

Glue from drum 16 is applied to lap 34, adjacent to panel A, prior tothe folding operation. FIGURE 2B illustrates blank 28 with its outerpanels A and D partially folded. This folding is done slightly out ofphase so that panel D will overlie glue flap 34 as seen in FIGURE 2C.This figure shows the blank 28 transformed into a folded tubular box 35which comprises stack 25.

It is noted that blank 28 is formed by a so called die cutting process.In the particular blank construction shown, both the leading 36 andtrailing 37 edges are of extremely irregular shape. This is typical ofblank constructions required for boxes having interlocking llaps whichwill maintain the boxes in errected condition.

As is well known to the art, it is essential for score lines 29-31 toremain parallel to the feed path during the feed-in operation so thatthese score lines will remain parallel to the feed path while belt means23 is performing the folding operation. The feed-in device 2i), which isthe heart of the instant invention, shall now be described in detail.

Feed-in device Ztl, as best seen in FIGURE 6, is pro- `vided with feedtable 4i) which supports stack 21. The

leading edges of liaps 42, 43 extending forward to panels A and C,respectively, rest against front guides 44, 45, respectively. Frontguides 44, 45 are mounted on conventional front gauge members 46 in sucha manner that the bottom edges of guides 44, 45 are considerably belowthe bottom edges of 46. Guides 45, 46 are then set vertically byadjusting member 46 so that the bottom edges of front guides 44, 45 arespaced from table 40 by a distance greater than the thickness of asingle blank 2S but less than twice this thickness.

The rear end of stack 21 is supported by the rollers of adjustable reargage 41. This relieves the bottom most blank in the stack fromsupporting a substantial portion of the stack weight and also causes theleading edges of aps 42, 43 to rest against the grid bars 40a on table40. Side guides 46, 47 determine the transverse position of stack 21 ontable 40. Positioned below feed table 46 are a pair of transverse shafts48, 49 each of which carry a pair of spaced sprockets, shaft 48 carryingbrackets 50a, 5b and shaft 49 carrying sprockets 51a, Sib. Closed loopchain 52a extends around sprockets ba, 51a while closed loop chain 52bextends around sprockets 5019, SIb. The upper flights of chains 52a, 52bare each supported for substantial portions of the length thereof in ahorizontal position by guide slats 53a, 53h. It is noted that the upperflights of chains 52a, 52h as they leave sprockets Sila, Stb areinclined upwardly in order to reach the trailing ends of supports 53a,53b. Driving power is supplied to chains 52a, 5217 through chain 55which drives sprocket 56 keyed to shaft 4S.

Belt means 66, closed except for a single relatively large transverseslot 61, is secured along its side edges to chains 52a, 5217 formovement in unison therewith. Chamber 62 is disposed within the looptransversed b y belt 6) and occupies a substantial portion of this loop.The sides of chamber 62 are each provided with openings 63 which arejoined to the exits of bifurcated coupling member 64. The single inletof member 64 is connected through bendable conduit 65 to a means forproducing suction within chamber 62. Typically, this means (not shown)comprises centrifugal 'blower with conduit 65 connected to the intake ofthe blower. It is noted that the top of chamber 62 is open and ispositioned relatively close to the lower side of feed table 4i?.

As best seen in FIGURE 3, feed table 49 comprises a plurality of spacedparallel bars 46a joined at their forward ends to member 4b and at theirrear ends to member 40C. Bars 49a extend parallel to the feed path.

As seen in FIGURES 8 and 8a, each chain link compirses spaced brackets70, 71 pivotally secured to roller '72 at opposite ends thereof. Each ofthe brackets 70, 71 are provided with an offset portion 73 with theseoffset portions being positioned in the same plane. The side edges ofbelt 6) are secured to brackets 70, 71 by means of screws 76.

Screw-nut means 75 secures member 74 to portion 73 of bracket 7@ whilescrew-nut means 76 secures both member 74 and belt 6b to portion 73 ofbracket 71. Spacer 77 interposed between belt 6i) and the bottom ofportion 73 of member 71 positions belt 6i? at the pitch line of thesprocket teeth to reduce exing of belt 60. Screw-nut means 77,positioned more inboard than screwnut means 76, secures belt 60 directlyto member 74.

The forward edge of slot 61 is defined by transverse member S2 which therear edge of slot 61 is defined by transverse member 81. Members S1 andS2 are each constructed of a plurality of relatively soft resilientmaterial such as rubber of medium hardness. Member 82 is secured inoperative position by being mounted to transverse slat 83 which isconnected at its opposite ends to chains 52a, 52h. A rear narrow portionof member 82 is sandwiched between member S3 and transverse clampingslats 84 with a plurality of screws 85 extending through the sections ofmembers 84 and 82 as well as through slat 83. The forward portion ofmembers 81 and S2 are enlarged. Transverse slat 83a, adjacent to slat 83on the forward side thereof, supports the forward portion of member 81.A securement means substantially identical to that provided for member82 is also provided for member 81.

The ends of the elements forming members 81, 82 are spaced apart todefine a plurality of transverse slots S3 (FIGURE 7) which receive bars46a. Thus, even though belt 60 is also positioned below feed table 40,portions of members 81, S2 extend above table 46 to engage the undersideof the bottom-most blank 28 in stack 21. Movable plate 89 rests upon thetop of feed table 40 and is positioned so as to cover a required portionof the top opening in chamber 62, to assure that members 81, 82 engagethe proper areas of each blank 2S. It is noted that a plurality ofbraces 90 extend over the top of chamber 62. In a direction parallel tothe feed path and provide support for the portion of belt 64B passingover chamber 62.

In operation, drive motor 92 of machine 19 is connected through suitablechains, gear and shafts, in a manner well know to the art, to drive belt93 which in turn drives sprocket 122 keyed to shaft 93a. Sprocket 95 isfreely mounted on shaft extension 94 of drive shaft 93a while collar 121is keyed to shaft 93a and axially movable thereon. With collar 121 movedto the left with respect to FIGURE 7, clutch pins 121a, carried bycollar 121, are brought into driving engagement with drive sprocket 95.

Continued movement of belt 60 is effective to move the bottom-most blankin the stack 21 below front guides 44, 45 and deliver this blank to feedrollers 96, 97. Rollers 96, 97 deliver the blank to folding section 22where, as previously explained, the blank is glue and folded formingfolded tubular box 35. The folded tubular box 3S is moved to stackingand delivery section 24 which includes spaced lift screws 99 positionedon opposite sides of the feed path so as to engage the folded tubularboxes along the side edges 93a, 98h thereof.

In a typical arrangement the driving connections between lift screws 99and motor 92 are such that lift screws 99 rotate through one completeturn for each blank issuing from folding section 22. Since belt 60 isprovided with a single slot 61 and a blank 28 is removed from stack 21each time slot 61 passes below stack 21 it is seen that lift screws 99go-throngh one revolution each time belt 60 traverses its closed looppath.

The suction feeder is arranged to be taken in or out of use as requiredby the type of work to be run. When not required the entire unit may belowered out of the way of the conventional feeding means. Thisadjustment takes place by means of four screws 2101-104 each of whichare threadably mounted to frame member 106. The upper ends of screwsi-104 support feed table 46 While the lower ends of screws 101-104 areeach provided with a sprocket 109. Chain 110 is in operative engagementwith all four sprockets 109 so that all of the screws 101-104 will berotated in unison. The adjustment rotation may be performed by eitherhand or power operated means.

1t is noted that even though the preferred embodiment of my inventionhas hereinbefore been described in connection with the feeding of blanks28 oriented with projecting flap 18 at the forward edge, the principlesof my invention are also applicable to a feeding arrangement whereinprojecting ap 18 is positioned to the rear. It is also noted that thelarge opening 61 in belt 60 enables a sufficient suction force to actagainst the blank being delivered so that this blank is firmly grippedby belt 60 and because of this the engagement of leading edge 36 ofblank 28 by feed rollers 96, 97 will not cause cocking of blank 28.Further, the principles of my invention are applicable for use with diecutting machines and many other devices requiring timed high speedfeeding.

It has been found that the timing relationship obtained with feed-indevice 20 is so accurate, even for extremely high speed operation, thatfeeder 20 may then be used to supply blanks to a slotter scorer.

For details of prior art devices referred to but not hereinbeforedescribed in detail, reference is made to the following of my U.S.patents and copending applications:

Serial No. 812,703, filed May 12, 1959, now Patent No.

Serial No. 87,870, led February 8, 1961 Patent No. 2,982,189, issued May2, 1961 In the foregoing I have described my invention only inconnection with preferred embodiments thereof. Many variations andmodifications of the principles of my invention within the scope of thedescription herein are obvious. Accordingly, I prefer to be bound not bythe specific disclosure herein but only by the appending claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive privilege orproperty is claimed are dened as follows:

1. A feeder device for removing blanks one at a time from the bottom ofa stack and moving these blanks along a feed path extending parallel tofold lines of the blanks in the stack, said feeder device including abelt, rst means for moving said belt in a direction parallel to saidfeed path, second means for guiding movement of said belt along a loop,third means for supporting a stack of blanks above said belt, fourthmeans delinng a slot in said belt extending across a substantial portionof the belt width, means for producing reduced air pressure within saidloop, fifth means for directing said reduced air pressure at said slotwhen the slot is below said stack, said third means operativelypositioned in close proximity to said belt so that when said slot isbelow the stack the bottom blank thereof will seal against said fourthmeans and be moved forward with said belt.

2. The feeder device of claim 1 in which the fourth means engages eachblank only at portions thereof which will constitute side panels of anerected box.

3. The feeder device of claim l in which the fourth means is constructedof relatively soft resilient material.

4. The feeder device of claim 1 in which the third means comprises aplurality of spaced bars extending parallel to the feed path.

5. The feeder device of claim 4 in which the fourth means is constructedof relatively soft resilent material including a first and a secondstrip of this material positioned transverse to the feed path, each ofsaid strips having a plurality of notches to receive the bars therebyenabling portions of said strips to extend above the slats and engagethe bottom blank in the stack.

6. The feeder device of claim 5 in which the strips engage each blankonly at portions thereof which will constitute side panels of anerrected box.

7. A box making machine comprising a feeder device for removing blanksone at a time from the bottom of a stack and moving these blanks along afeed path extending parallel to fold lines of the blanks in the stack, afolding device for receiving blanks hom said feeder device andtransforming these blanks into folded tubular boxes, and a stackingdevice for receiving boxes from said folding device; said feeder deviceincluding a belt, first means for moving said belt in a directionparallel to said feed path, second means for guiding movement of saidbelt along a loop, third means for supporting a stack of blanks abovesaid belt, fourth means defining a slot in said belt extending across asubstantial portion of the belt width, means for producing reduced airpressure within said loop, fifth means for directing said reduced airpressure at said slot when the slot is below said stack, said thirdmeans operatively positioned in close proximity to said belt so thatwhen said slot its below the stack the bottom blank thereof will sealagainst said fourth means and be moved forward with said belt.

8. The box making machine of claim 7 in which the belt includes but oneslot and the stacking device includes a lift screw means rotated oncefor each complete journey of the belt around the loop.

9. The box making machine of claim 7 in which the fourth means engageseach blank only at portions thereof which will constitute side panels ofan erected box.

10. The box making machine of claim 7 in which the third means comprisesa plurality of spaced slats extending parallel to the feed path, saidfourth means constructed of relatively soft resilient material includinga first and a second strip of this material positioned transverse to thefeed path, each of said strips having a plurality of notches to receivethe slats thereby enabling portions of said strips to extend above theslats and engage the bottom blank in the stack.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,749,118 Kerr et al .Tune 5, 1956 2,837,333 Sindzinski et al. June 3,1958 2,952,457 Fliegner Sept. 13, 1960 2,982,189 Shields May 2, 19613,034,784 Lopez May 15, 1962

7. A BOX MAKING MACHINE COMPRISING A FEEDER DEVICE FOR REMOVING BLANKSONE AT A TIME FROM THE BOTTOM OF A STACK AND MOVING THESE BLANKS ALONG AFEED PATH EXTENDING PARALLEL TO FOLD LINES OF THE BLANKS IN THE STACK, AFOLDING DEVICE FOR RECEIVING BLANKS FROM SAID FEEDER DEVICE ANDTRANSFORMING THESE BLANKS INTO FOLDED TUBULAR BOXES, AND A STACKINGDEVICE FOR RECEIVING BOXES FROM SAID FOLDING DEVICE; SAID FEEDER DEVICEINCLUDING A BELT, FIRST MEANS FOR MOVING SAID BELT IN A DIRECTIONPARALLEL TO SAID FEED PATH, SECOND MEANS FOR GUIDING MOVEMENT OF SAIDBELT ALONG A LOOP, THIRD MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A STACK OF BLANKS ABOVESAID BELT, FOURTH MEANS DEFINING A SLOT IN SAID BELT EXTENDING ACROSS ASUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE BELT WIDTH, MEANS FOR PRODUCING REDUCED AIRPRESSURE WITHIN SAID LOOP, FIFTH MEANS FOR DIRECTING SAID REDUCED AIRPRESSURE AT SAID SLOT WHEN THE SLOT IS BELOW SAID STACK, SAID THIRDMEANS OPERATIVELY POSITIONED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO SAID BELT SO THATWHEN SAID SLOT ITS BELOW THE STACK THE BOTTOM BLANK THEREOF WILL SEALAGAINST SAID FOURTH MEANS AND BE MOVED FORWARD WITH SAID BELT.